1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable apparatus for fusing plastic pipe and, more particularly, an apparatus which is provided with means to bring two molten ends of pipe sections into fusing contact and means to maintain and indicate the force applied to the pipes during fusing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the advance of plastic technology, there is an ever increasing use of plastic (i.e. polyethelene) pipe in commercial and residential applications. The plastic pipe is replacing metal pipe due to the fact that it is both lighter in weight and corrosion resistant. Plastic pipe may be formed in sections with one end having an upset or sleeved end with the rear or non-enlarged end of an adjacent section of pipe received therein. It is more economical to connect pipe sections without the necessity of sleeved ends by heating and then fusing pipe sections together. Various devices have been designed in the past which achieve these purposes and are described and shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,013,925, 3,552,265 and 3,729,360. These prior art devices have ranged from simple hand operated devices to large trailer mounted hydraulically operated devices. In fusing plastic pipe utilizing a manually operated device, it has been difficult to maintain adequate axial pressure or force on the pipe sections being fused to ensure a proper bond. There has been no prior art devices with latch means for use with manually operated fusion devices to maintain a given pressure. Also, there has been no prior art means on these manual devices for the operator to know the amount of pressure or force applied to the pipe sections being fused.